cornell report spring 2014
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Hiring Cornellians
Derek Johnson ’04, is executive director of Global Zero, a non-profit dedicated to eliminating nuclear weapons around the world. Though based in Washington, D.C., his work regularly takes him worldwide. Johnson graduated from the Boston College Law School in 2007, having been chosen as one of 10 Boston College Law School students to participate in its London Program.
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Mentoring Cornellians
Given the number of Cornell College students he’s mentored, John Mark Dean ’58 could be forgiven for sometimes feeling like he’s running a bed and breakfast. That’s a risk you run when you mentor students—that the relationships you develop will go beyond the classroom and into the rest of your life.
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Recruiting new Cornellians
Tahllee Baynard ’97 was named 2012 Scientist of the Year by Black Engineer magazine. He and his wife, Kanesha Lee Baynard ’94, met at Cornell, and both have been involved with the college ever since, with Tahllee teaching a course at Cornell and Kanesha serving as a class agent. She also served on the college’s alumni board.
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Telling the story of Cornell
Cornell College alumni are among the college’s most passionate and effective advocates. Their experiences provide powerful stories to communicate the value of a Cornell education.
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Students still striving for Civil Rights
Just as the inspirational words of the Rev. King are still present on campus today, so too is the drive to make sure that every American has access to the voting booth. Cole Library has served as a satellite voting location for state and federal elections since 2006, providing voting access to students and helping to teach students the importance of fulfilling their civic duty to vote.
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The March for Freedom: Civil rights activists look back
It was March 1965 and news of brutal attacks on civil rights marchers from Selma to Montgomery, Ala., hit the Cornell campus. A small group of students quickly coalesced to drive down and join the reinforcements.
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Paradise regained—on the Orange Carpet
Picture angels talking to you in a garden paradise, explaining the origin of the world and your place in it. This isn’t heaven; it’s Cornell College—and the Orange Carpet to be more specific. And those angels—and devils—are students, faculty, and staff, gathered to read John Milton’s “Paradise Lost” aloud in one marathon session.
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From newly tenured Cornell faculty
Three professors earned tenure starting with the 2013-14 school year: Rebecca Entel, Tori Barnes-Brus ’97, and Jim VanValen. We asked each of them to share some of the latest developments in their respective fields.
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Boren Scholarship helps Voas study Arabic abroad
After Erinn Voas ’15 finished four Arabic language courses at Cornell, she was hooked on the language and started thinking about something ambitious—maybe spending an entire year studying abroad in Arabic. Thanks in part to a $20,000 Boren Scholarship, she is now halfway through a year in Amman, Jordan, where she’s taking all her coursework in Arabic at the University of Jordan.
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Thomas Commons worth celebrating
The last brick has been laid, the last pane of glass installed, the last floorboard epoxied into place—now it’s time to celebrate. That’s the plan for May 2, when the college holds a grand opening and dedication ceremony for the Thomas Commons.
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Residence halls revamped
Thousands of students have called Dows, Tarr, Pauley, and Rorem halls home, and they look pretty much the same as they did in the 1960s. That’s going to change starting this May, when Cornell begins a $10 million, 15-month renovation project.
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Let there be light
Starting this fall, dusk will no longer mark the stopping time for practice on the Ash Park field. Cornell has raised the money from fans and former athletes to install lights at Ash Park, adding hours to the field’s availability for practice and games.
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Rams put the freeze on the competition this winter
Wins, records, and milestones accumulated like snowflakes and sub-zero temperatures this winter season in Cornell athletics.
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Alumna founds the fusion band Muningu
Amber Swenson Junker ’05 thought that moving to the Republic of Congo in 2012 with husband Barry in the Foreign Service might delay a musical theater career. Junker, a theater and vocal music education major at Cornell, had worked five years as a professional actor in Minneapolis, held a master’s degree in musical theater from the Boston Conservatory, and was making progress in the tough New York scene.
Hiring Cornellians 
Mentoring Cornellians 
Recruiting new Cornellians 
Telling the story of Cornell 
Students still striving for Civil Rights 
The March for Freedom: Civil rights activists look back 
In brief 
Paradise regained—on the Orange Carpet 
From newly tenured Cornell faculty 
Boren Scholarship helps Voas study Arabic abroad 
Thomas Commons worth celebrating 
Residence halls revamped 
Let there be light 
Rams put the freeze on the competition this winter 
Alumna founds the fusion band Muningu